


My Jolly Sailor Bold

by TheJackdaw



Category: Assassin's Creed - All Media Types
Genre: Does it sound weird if I tag this as interspecies?, F/M, Fluff, Girl Saves Boy, Interspecies, Little Mermaid Elements, One Shot, yes it does
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-17
Updated: 2017-11-25
Packaged: 2018-09-18 05:14:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9369605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheJackdaw/pseuds/TheJackdaw
Summary: Tellana is a mermaid with what some may consider a dangerous curiosity for the people that sail above where her people live. When she finds one in need of help, she can't help but jump to the rescue, although she may have gotten into something she didn't initially expect.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the edit below that a friend of mine made for me, just something that made me laugh whilst at the same time making me think "oooo writing potential"
> 
> So thank you, friend that shall remain anonymous.

Tellana was like many mermaids of her age, overly curious of the people that lived above the water and sailed overhead in their huge ships. Although unlike the others, she was not actively trying to run into one, as she feared what they could do to her much more than she feared the great white sharks that she saw most days. She had seen them diving amongst old wrecks of ships with spears and knives and other such weaponry of which she didn't wish to feel the sting. Besides, she knew that such an occurrence would lead to blood in the water, and therefore hungry sharks. 

She had been warned plenty of times, by friends and family alike, to not go near the shore during the day where she could be seen. But she was certain even if she was seen she could most likely just pass as a woman just out for a swim in the Caribbean water. The merpeople did speak in the same tongue as them after all. She was told it was many years prior to her birth, but only once before had a mermaid and human become friends, and it was this time that he taught her his language, as she taught it to her children. So now, the majority of her people if not all could pass as a human if they concealed the lower half of their bodies beneath the waves.

Tellana herself had tried it multiple times and had mostly gotten away with it until she had tried it on a man that seemed a little  _too_  keen to come and join her in the water. During her escape, her tail had accidentally flipped above the surface and she heard his shocked cry and the wild splashing as he ran back to shore. She wasn't too worried about it, though; plenty of men had tried to convince others of the existence of mermaids, each with as little success as the previous. She had even had a laugh as she spotted him the next day with another man, pointing out the area where she had been seen. She quickly descended into the sea before he could see her perched on a nearby rock watching him. But then she heard something in the distance that drew her attention. It was the sound of an anchor dropping to the sea floor.

On this day, however, she was out looking for something for her family to eat that night, and was therefore equipped with her trident and wore her light chain armour around her arms, shoulders and tail to deter any curious sharks. She was about to move into deeper waters when she heard something in the distance that drew her attention. It was the sound of an anchor dropping to the sea floor.

She swam towards where she had heard it and found the silhouette of a ship on the surface. She swam up until she could look at the name inscribed on the back. "Jackdaw"? She didn't recognise that name, nor did she know what they could be interested in near here where the sea was too shallow for any fish worth spearing or catching with the net. Then she caught sight of a blond man standing near the edge, looking into the water. He was covered in tattoos and wore a strip of fabric around his forehead to hold his hair from his face, along with rough, stained trousers that were held up by a belt and stopped at his knees. He wasn't wearing a shirt, so she guessed he was about to dive in. For what reason, she didn't know but thought it wise if she left before he saw her. She carefully sank back down again, careful to not let her tail break the surface when she heard a resounding and almost painful 'boom' as something huge was dropped into the water. She looked back at the ship again where there was now a huge metal diving bell, slowing descending to the bottom. Soon after, Tellana saw the blond man jump in holding onto the bell as it fell to the bottom.

She carefully swam down after him whilst staying far back enough that he wouldn't see her by accident. Once it stopped he swam down and went inside, presumably to reach the air pocket within. She considered what to do; knowing that if she stayed where she was she was more likely to be seen if he were to look around. She didn't even consider that his sight would be much worse underwater when she was swimming over to the bell to perch herself on top. After all, was it not logical to think that the last place he'd look for danger would be right above him? She held onto the chain with one hand, holding her trident in the other and wrapped her tail around it to keep herself securely on top. She felt herself tense up as his head emerged from the bell, although she was lucky that he did not turn around but instead swam straight forward to the wreck that sat split in half on the seabed. She watched him hide amongst the seaweed that grew on from the sand and cocked her head to the side in confusion. She soon realised it was because he had seen a shark swimming towards him, and it gracefully glided over the top of him without noticing he was even there. He continued on his journey into the wreck and disappeared behind it, after resupplying himself with air from one of the barrels his crew dropped.

She considered leaving now whilst she had her chance and was swimming away when she heard a crash and creak from the old timbers of the ship. She whipped her head around and was horrified to see a shark’s tail thrashing around in the ship. It looked as though it had rushed forwards and gotten stuck in an opening that was too small for its body, and its movements were slowly weakening the already rotten boards of the ship. She hadn't seen her pirate return safely to the bell and so knew that he was still inside, probably the reason that the shark had had such an intent to get inside. She then smelt the blood on the water herself. He had cut himself somewhere inside the wreck, and as a result would lead more sharks to where he was if he wasn't quick in getting out. The shark now thrashed one last time and completely took out the wall it was stuck in, trapping itself entirely under the rubble. 

Her instincts took over and she swam over as fast as she could, moving as much of the rubble as possible and using her trident to pry the boards out of the way so the shark could free himself. She knew he would be thoroughly deterred from returning to the man, and so didn't pay the creature any attention as it swam away. Luckily he himself had only gotten his leg trapped under it all, but the struggle of trying to get free was making him run out of the air. Tellana then rushed to him and used her trident once more to break the boards holding him in place and pulling other looser pieces free. He was doomed to see her, but she didn't care if it meant she could save him. He caught sight of her, and the remaining breath in him left him in a burst of bubbles as his eyes widening momentarily before squinting shut again at the burn of the salt water. She didn't waste any more time as she grabbed him around his waist and pulled him towards his diving bell again to give him the air he needed. He coughed and spluttered once he reached the pocket of air inside; coughing up the water he had inhaled. 

He looked at her again and wiped the water from his eyes as if to try to confirm to him that what he was looking at wasn't an asphyxiation-induced hallucination.

"You're a mermaid?" He asked her, remarkably calmly given his expression.

She nodded and looked at his face to make sure he was alright before remembering the wound on his leg.

"We need to get you out of the water, the sharks will return if you're bleeding. Tell your men to take you up."

She felt something unusual in her stomach when she saw the look he gave her. He was looking at her with rapt fascination, which although understandable, she couldn't help but shy away from.

"How long have you been here, lass?" He asked her curiously, hanging onto a ring that hung inside the bell to keep him afloat.

"If I promise to answer your questions can we get you out of the water first?" She asked him quietly, still wishing to keep him safe although she knew it would be better if she just left him.

"Okay, lass." He chuckled, taking a deep breath before disappearing back underwater followed swiftly by Tellana.

She grabbed him around his waist once more and swam as swiftly as she could to the shore, his kicks not being much of a help but she found it endearing nonetheless. Luckily the shore wasn't too far away, and she knew of a small cove where she could lay him and they wouldn't be seen. He took a deep breath in again once he reached the surface and sat on the sand, facing out into the bay where his ship could be seen still floating in the distance. He found it slightly amusing that they'd still be awaiting his call to bring him up, yet here he was, sitting on the shore almost four hundred metres away.

He watched Tellana closely as she swam around the shallows, still wary of getting too close to him. She may have been thoroughly intrigued by him, but she wasn't blinded to the potential dangers of man, and he would have been stupid to go diving with no kind of weapon. Although she couldn't see any kind of knife on him. She swam closer.

"Who are you?" She asked carefully, and he smirked and crouched in the water lapping onto the beach.

"Edward Kenway." He told her in a tone that almost sounded smug, "Captain of the Jackdaw, and dashing rogue of the Caribbean." 

"And you're a man?" She asked him, walking herself into the shallower water with her hands.

"I suppose you could call me that." He joked and she looked at him with her head cocked to the side.

He suddenly looked at her and frowned, "how can you breathe up here?"

"We breathe like you." She told him simply, "we can just hold our breath for longer."

"Fascinating..." He crawled closer carefully but seemed to have startled her as she shot back in a splash of salt water and hid behind a rock that stood nearby.

"Wait! I'm sorry!" He called to her, "what's your name?"

She peeked around the corner, dropping her trident to the floor by the rock and looking at up him and down so quickly she almost felt dizzy from how fast her eyes were moving.

"Tellana." She squeaked, gracefully swimming slowly back out into the open.

She saw his bleeding wound on his leg once again and winced. Wordlessly, she jumped from the water and flipped around in the air before diving back down to find the special kind of seaweed her people used to bind similar wounds. She grabbed a handful and swam back to the surface where Edward saw her and smiled in relief as though he had thought she wasn't coming back.

"I can help with that." She nodded towards his leg and raised her eyebrows, as though she was still wary of him.

"Please do." He sat backwards so his leg was extended into the surf, and winced when the salt water got into the wound. 

She knew she really shouldn't still be here, that she still had the chance to escape, but she didn't actually want to. She beat her tail gently in the water, so gently in fact the water behind her was hardly disturbed. She reached him and looked at his face to gauge what he was thinking. He looked stunned at the moment, and she thought it fitting to wrap the wound whilst he was too distracted to think about anything else.

She took his leg as delicately as she could and wrapped the seaweed as tightly as she could around it to prevent it from slipping. She then tied it up and tucked in the end in such a way that it wouldn't come undone unless you wanted it to. She looked up at him again and now he had leant back on his hands and was watching her silently with his bottom lip held between his teeth.

"Are you okay?" She asked him, and snapped him out of his trance.

"Yes, thank you. You didn't need to do that."

She was in such shallow water now she was lying on her stomach and her tail was lying in the water behind her, the end floating and bobbing in the small waves that reached the shore. She wordlessly began to turn herself around on her hands to leave without much ceremony, hoping it would be easier if she did so.

"Wait." He called after her gently and she looking back at him, her hair covering the eye closest to him.

She stared at him with a fear in her eyes as he crawled towards her so that eventually he was crouched in front of her. He reached out towards her face, and she jumped back a little as her gaze rapidly flicked back and forth between his hand and his face. She could tell by the soft look in his eyes he wasn't trying to hurt her, but she had heard so many negative stories of people that had attacked her people to try and kill them as proof of their existence. 

"It's okay, lass, I'm not going to hurt you." He cooed, reaching towards her again.

She stilled her breathing and watched him carefully, consciously thinking of where her hands were and remembering that she could use her long nails as a defence if need be. He gently moved the hair from her face and looked into her eyes, smiling as her bright blue eyes shone in the sunlight.

“You know many men would give everything they have to see a real mermaid.” He joked, but she either didn’t see the humour in it or was too distracted by looking into his gaze to hear what he said, and offered no response.

“You should go back to your ship.” She told him, shifting backwards again so she was in slightly deeper water where she knew she could swim properly.

“Can I see you again?” He asked her boldly, and where she would have been repulsed if she had been asked the same question by one of her kind, having heard it from him only drew on her curiosity.

“Return here at night fall if that is what you truly wish,” She told him, much to his joy, but he became concerned once he saw her face fall into a much more serious expression as she continued, “but tell no one, and bring no one, or you shall never sail these seas safely again.”

“Of course, lass.” He smiled sweetly at her and for the first time she smiled back and him and felt a strange feeling in her stomach as she turned away to dive back into the water and swim back home.

Edward sat there by himself for a few moments before standing up to begin his swim back to the boat, his mind continuously racing through possible explanations of what had just happened. Had he really just been saved by a _mermaid_?

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edward goes to see Tellana again, and things get very cute

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *casually leaves this update here after not updating since January*

Edward was sitting on the deck alone that evening, looking over the back of his ship towards the shore where he had seen the mermaid, wondering if she had meant what she said about seeing her again. He had pulled up a chair and had his legs thrown up onto the low wall that stood between the deck and the sea, taking swigs from a bottle of rum and looking out with these thoughts clouding his mind when he heard someone approach from behind him. He turned to see James Kidd (or Mary, as he had recently found out), walking up to him with a smug look on his face.

"What's eating at you, Kenway?" He pushed, "I've only ever seen that look on a man in love. Either that or he just needs a piss, easily confused I'm sure you understand."

Edward smiled at the joke and nodded towards the wall opposite to gesture for James to stand there so that he could see him properly without having to turn around.

"Something like that," Kenway joked, "Although I'd be lying if I said I knew what was going on."

"Is this the day that  _the_  Edward Kenway admits 'e don't know shite about women? Maybe I am a bloke after all."

"Shut your gob, Kidd." Edward snapped, although Kidd knew he wasn't truly angry.

"So tell me, what is it?"

"I'm not going to tell you, not that you would believe me if I did."

"Don't give me that shite. Oh, is it the Kraken? A siren?" James melodramatically gasped, "A fairy?"

Edward managed to school his expression into one of humour, simply rolling his eyes and shaking his head in response whilst taking another swig of his drink.

"You wound me. You think I'd believe in those children's stories?" Edward joked, but then returned his gaze back to the bay again.

"Well with you and you're drinking 'abits who knows what you've been seein'."

Edward suddenly caught sight of movement in the water near the bay, and a shadowy figure appeared on the surface of the water. He didn't think to not shoot up from his seat and lean over the edge of the boat to get a closer look, whilst Kidd was still looking.

"What? What is it?" He asked, panic in his voice so thick Edward could already see the furrow in his brow and the squint he gets in his eyes when he worries.

"I just thought I saw someone I knew on the beach," Edward said quickly, thinking he could get away with it if what he said wasn't entirely untrue.

"One of our men?"

"Nah, a childhood friend maybe, can't quite remember where I recognized her from."

"Ah, so it's a 'her'? An old flame of yours?" James was back to making jokes, and Edward saw the opportunity to lighten the mood again.

"That, my dear friend, is none of your business." He joked, and walked back towards his quarters, "Anyway, I think it's best I get back to my work."

Kidd followed him up to where the steps lead down to below deck, nodding towards him and muttering a 'goodnight' to him with a wave.

Edward waited for the footsteps to fade away and quickly took off his robes and hide them in his room, so he stood in his breeches with a red sash tied around his waist. He looked out again towards the bay but did not see any movement. Disheartened, he walked back over to the back of his ship once more, carefully climbing over the edge and slipping into the water as quickly as possible to not catch anyone’s attention.

He swam over to the beach and walked out on the sand, scanning over the water surface and squinting into the darkness to try and make out any movement. He whipped his head around when he heard splashing to his left, and smiled when he saw a woman’s figure appear on top of a rock a few metres out into the water.

“Is that you?” He asked dumbly, slowly approaching her.

“Edward?” She called back delicately. So softly, in fact, he felt his heart melt at her innocence.

“Yes. You came.”

She moved her hair from her face and drew it over her front on her shoulder as if she wanted it there to hold as a point of comfort.

“So did you, why?”

“Call it curiosity, lass.” He smiled, stepping closer once more.

Her tail waved back and forth in the water and created a long line of ripples, along with the soft sound of water lapping up against the rock she was sat on. There were torches lined up near the shore which worked to illuminate his face and body enough that she had the opportunity to look at him once again. His body was covered in tattoos, all seemingly from different stories he had to tell. She noticed one of a woman on his arm, and she found herself frowning slightly when she saw it.

Tellana herself had chosen somewhere to sit which was wholly blocked off from view from the rest of the harbour and the town; only if you were to try could you spot her. She watched as he paced closer still, beginning to worry that someone may come over to investigate just what this barely clothed man found so interesting in the dead of night. She tried to distract him.

“How does your leg feel?” She looked down at where the blood had stained his breeches.

“Much better, thank you. Can I ask something?”

She felt her heart squeeze in anticipation and started to unconsciously run her fingers through her hair as though that would calm her down.

“Yes?” She spoke quietly, so quiet that he almost didn’t hear her over the sound of the water washing over the sand.

He stepped into the water and waded into where his middle was submerged in water, looking up at her.

“Will you come in with me?”

Her eyes widened in panic and she was unsure how to respond to his question. She wanted to try it, and she did trust him not to hurt her. However, she was unsure what he could possibly want her to be there for, so she hesitated.

“If it makes you feel any better, you are the one with the tail. You could swim away much faster than I could pursue you.” He chuckled.

 After a couple of seconds of thought, she slipped back into the water and carefully swam over whilst making sure that her tail was entirely submerged in case any other people were to see them together. Hopefully, if they did they would just assume they were a couple trying to enjoy a night alone together.

She almost giggled at how enraptured Edward looked at how the scales along her tail shimmered when they caught the light, similarly to how the moon reflected on the waves at night. She swam slightly closer, so he was only a step away from him and knew that if he were to try, he could reach out and touch her. She understood the curiosity men had for her kind as she felt the same for them, although seemingly she wasn’t so desperate to find out more until she had met him.

“How many of you are there?” He asked her quietly, almost dreamily as his eyes moved quickly across her body as if he was still trying to make sense of what he was seeing.

“Enough.” She told him evasively, “We keep ourselves sustained.”

“Are you afraid of us?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“The spears. Nets. Huge ships.”

“You know quite a lot about us for how little time you’ve spoken to an actual person, lass.” He moved closer and looked into her eyes.

“It isn’t unheard of for us to speak, just those that tell stories of seeing us aren’t typically believed.” She remained still as he approached.

Edward fell silent now and Tellana was glad to have heard the end of his questions. But he was getting closer, although it appeared he wasn’t aware he was doing it by the transfixed look in his eye. She flinched a little with the urge to move away from him, but at the same time wanted to see what he was after and was equally interested in him as he was in her.

She had heard stories when she was much younger of mermaids such as herself who had pined for a life on the shore, using dramatic measures such as magic to live there. However, in the end, they usually paid dearly for their desires by turning into the surf that laps upon the sand, or something equally as distressing to a young mermaid. She knew now they were all trying to quash any interest in the people there before it had a chance to grow and lead to mermaids risking their lives to be with people.

“What is it?” She suddenly asked, seeing how he seemed to be staring directly through her without blinking.

The corner of his mouth pulled up in a dopey smile, which made her feel somehow a lot safer. She suddenly had an idea.

“Do you want to see something fun?” She asked him.

“Okay?” He said uncertainly, leaning his back against a nearby rock to watch.

She swam into slightly deeper waters and spread her arms nearly as far as she could, just about moving her fingertips through the water. Edward watched the ripples that followed her movements, and then looked at her face to see she had closed her eyes and she was muttering something under her breath. Before too long, he saw a little shoal of fish swimming around her body and tail as if part of a whirlpool. He stood up properly and waded slightly closer to get a better look, as the low light they were in made it difficult to get a good look at exactly what was happening. She opened her eyes but maintained the focus she needed to get the fish around her.

“You aren’t easily frightened are you, Edward?” She asked quietly, and he suddenly frowned in confusion.

“By these little fish? Of course not.” He smiled, dipping his fingers in as if to try and touch them and jumping back when they dodged him quickly.

“Then come with me; trust me.” She kept her arms out to her sides floating on the surface and swam back into deeper waters, maintain eye contact with Edward to ask him to follow.

Of course, the combination of his confident and awe ensured that he did indeed follow her. They got to a depth where he was just about not touching the sand, but could still feel bits of seaweed moving in the current. He was treading water steadily and found himself almost feeling jealous of how effortlessly and gracefully she could keep her position in the water. She gave him a look, as though she was asking for permission. He cocked his head to one side and raised an eyebrow in question.

“Will you promise me to stay still?” She looked at him in excitement.

“As still as I can be whilst swimming.” He joked but was still slightly sceptical at what she had planned.

Once again, she closed her eyes and began muttering. Edward felt tense up as he felt something much larger than what he had previously seen in front of him brush against his leg. It felt strong, powerfully pushing water behind it. His eyes widened as he looked over her shoulder to see a shark’s fin cut the surface of the water, but she had expected it and swam closer to him to make him feel safer.

“Is this you?” He asked, his breath rapid and felt on her cheeks.

“Yes, they are here because I asked them to come.” She comforted him, “They will not harm you.”

He tried to relax but he wasn’t used to being in open water with numerous sharks with no protection. Tellana then once again summoned a group of smaller fish, so that they swam around them in the same circular pattern. However, this time there was such a great number of them that it greater an up current so that Edward no longer had to try to keep himself afloat. Tellana wrapped her tail around Edward’s middle in an oddly sensual movement, and he was unsure whether it would be proper to hold her. He found himself too curious and rested his hands either side of him, feeling her smooth scales of her tail, and moving his hands up to where the scales turned to her skin. Despite the cold water, she was warm, and Edward left his hands on her hips and looked into her eyes.  

She felt her cheeks flush as he fixed her with an intense yet soft look, unwavering but comforting.

“Do you need to keep your hands in the water to control them?” He asked softly, to which she shook her head without thinking.

She didn’t even notice that his hands had moved to take her hands out of the water and rested them on his shoulders, her hands brushing against each other behind his head.

“Now Tellana,” Edward grinned, amused by how distant she seemed looking up at him, “It’s your turn to stay still.”

She felt her stomach clench as he leant down towards her, closing his eyes slowly as he went. She too closed her eyes, relaxing with a long breath as he kissed her. She didn’t exactly know what she was doing, but she knew she was enjoying it so tried to follow was he was doing. He pulled back a couple of inches and tilted his head the other way to kiss her again. He was aware of the sharks swimming around them, still hearing the smooth sound of their fins cutting through the water, but found himself no longer scared of the danger. Eventually, he pulled back to let her realise what had just happened, and he smiled to himself as he saw her grin happily and rest her head on his shoulder. He moved one hand to support her by her tail and the other to hold the back of her head, stroking her soothingly.

Edward looked down behind her to see the sea life around them, then looked up to the moonlit sky as the moon just appeared from behind the clouds. He sighed in content and rested his head against hers with a lazy smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you @antepenult @Nao @Vanill and @AyraTheAverage for your comments and feedback on this story, only just remembered about AO3 recently and decided to pay a little visit

**Author's Note:**

> I'm considering expanding this story a little bit, but I don't really know how, considering the only kind of expansion I usually do leads to smut.
> 
> And who can do an accurate imagining/writing of some human/mermaid smut? Maybe I could who knows xD
> 
> Please leave any feedback you have, even if it's correcting my grammar or something tiny like that. I love to hear what you thought of the story and if you guys think that I should carry something like this onwards, coz it certainly has the potential to go somewhere interesting.


End file.
